


Were The World Ours

by thewildtype



Series: The Happiest of Birthdays To You [1]
Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Adora tries cake for the first time, Birthday, Canon Compliant, F/F, Mutual Pining, unrequited love... OR IS IT?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-02
Updated: 2020-12-02
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:14:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,303
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27832852
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thewildtype/pseuds/thewildtype
Summary: Adora's first birthday away from the Horde is nothing like she imagined.
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra)
Series: The Happiest of Birthdays To You [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2067987
Comments: 4
Kudos: 55





	Were The World Ours

It was coming up on that time of year again. Adora never really looked forward to her birthday. Completing another trip around the sun wasn’t something the Horde thought was worth celebrating. Shadow Weaver would give her an annual pat on the shoulder along with a neutral “thanks for not dying” announcement in front of her squad. It wasn’t something she bothered committing memory. In fact, the only reason she remembered her birthday at all was because of Catra. She used to view this as a reminder that they were more than just soldiers, but that was over now. Catra made that clear. Now, this was just going to be another day she was alive to see.

At first, Adora didn’t mention anything to Glimmer and Bow. Part of her reasoning was due to indifference and the other was to avoid disappointment. She wanted to keep her expectations lower than normal since she was already missing out on the only birthday tradition she had ever known. Still, she felt like she was keeping something major from her new friends. Birthdays were something they talked about with passion and seemed to hold in high esteem. It was a foreign concept for someone adopted into Horde culture. The Horde had lied to her for so long. Maybe that alone was a good enough reason to confess. Besides, at this point Bow and Glimmer were practically her family and families were honest with each other, right?

A week before the big day, she caved.

As expected, there was an outburst of anger for keeping this a secret that was quickly replaced with feverish party planning. Glimmer and Bow were both determined to rectify the injustice of the Horde denying Adora a proper birthday bash. Her friends spent the remainder of the week in a frenzy buzzing around the palace. Adora didn’t see them that much. She was banned from wandering the halls until the day of her birthday. The isolation made her almost regret telling them in the first place.

Almost.

On the morning of her birthday, she was startled awake by Glimmer and Bow jumping up and down around her room singing a song that repeated the words “Happy birthday to you” and “Adora” over and over again. It wasn't the most imaginative song they have ever come up with, but she appreciated the effort. Their joy was contagious. Soon, she was swept up in the spirit of the occasion. She put on the outfit Glimmer laid out for her. It was a brand-new dress, a shade of blue that matched her eyes. She checked her appearance in the mirror, twirling a few times for good measure watching the ankle length fabric swish to and fro. She checked the time. It was almost noon. She figured her friends must have let her sleep in as part of her special treatment.

Glimmer and Bow, newly dressed in party attire, came to collect her from her room. They blind folded her, claiming it was part of the fun, and lead her around the castle. It felt like they were walking for ages. Eventually, they stopped but Adora didn’t get the memo. She collided head on with a sturdy body.

“Ow.” She groaned.

“Oh, sorry Adora I should have warned you. We’re here!” Bow exclaimed.

The blind fold was lifted. Adora blinked her eyes a few times, adjusting to the light. She didn’t know what to expect exactly, but it certainly wasn’t this.

“Um guys, why are we looking at a dark empty room? Is this what birthday parties are?”

Bow was squirming like he was trying his best to contain his excitement. Glimmer was grinning in the way she often did when she was hatching one of her master plans. Adora was just confused.

Glimmer clapped her hands.

In an instant, the room before her was flooded with light revealing the hall wasn’t empty in the slightest.

“SURPISE!!!” Everyone shouted in unison.

All of the friends she made since joining the allegiance with Bright Moon were there. There was catchy music playing in the background, streamers off all the colors of the rainbow covering every wall, and Swift Wind, her majestic horse friend prancing around in all his glory. Glimmer dragged her shell-shocked body around the ball room. She explained there was a mountain of gifts everyone brought her and the polite thing to do was to thank everyone for them.

The treatment she received was strange.

Everyone was paying so much attention to her and being way nicer to her than usual. Mermista complimented her dress, Perfuma gave her the longest hug of her entire life, and Sea Hawk pulled a box of matches out of his pocket with a note that read “Light up the whole town.” Glimmer revoked this gift immediately.

The absolute best part was the food, oh all the food! Adora stuffed her face with anything and everything she could get her hands on. She could really get used to this whole birthday pampering thing if it meant unlimited food. Just when she thought she couldn’t eat another bite, there was more singing announcing the arrival of a giant cake! She didn’t know what true happiness was until she took her very first bite of the sweet sugary delight that was cake. It was glorious! If this is what the Horde was depriving her of her entire life, then she definitely made the right choice by leaving. She felt a small pang of guilt as she finished her fourth slice for all the kids growing up in the Horde that would never know the magnificent taste of cake.

Overall, this was a much different birthday experience than she was used to. Adora really did have a lot of fun, but for some reason she couldn’t shake the nagging feeling in the pit of her stomach that something was missing. Adora tried to brush it off and instead focus on all the good in her life. Especially, her new friends that went through all the trouble of throwing her such an incredible party. She truly was grateful, and she knew, in the grand scheme of things, she was better off away from the clutches of the Horde. Despite the sobering truth of her reality, there was a small part of her that missed the one good thing she used to have in her former life. Catra.

Catra was the best part of her life before discovering She-Ra and the dark truths of the Horde. She was Adora’s constant. When they were together anything seemed possible. They were unbreakable. Or so she thought. Sadly, she was wrong about so many things.

She missed her former best friend and hated how much it hurt to be without her, especially today.

After the party ended, Adora found herself back in the solace of her room. She unceremoniously threw herself onto her bed. The moment her body hit the mattress, she heard a rustling sound that resembled paper crinkling. Puzzled, she sat up only to discover a letter lying in the middle of her bed.

She opened the envelope. Inside was a purple leaf and a handwritten note that read “ _Sunset Tonight_.”

A chill ran along her spine.

She looked around her room. No one was there. Everything in her room seemed undisturbed, but Adora knew better.

She knew someone had been there. She knew exactly _who_ it was…

* * *

_Adora took cover behind the column. She leaned against the cool surface panting to catch her breath. She peered around the structure careful not to be discovered herself. Adora began to worry when she didn’t spot her friend. “Catra, where are you?” She whispered under her breath as fear settled in._

_“I’m right here.” Catra said with one hand on her hip as if she just conjured out of thin air the moment her name was spoken aloud._

_“Good!” Adora said breathing a sigh of relief. She grabbed Catra’s hand. “Let’s keep going before anyone catches us.”_

_Catra shook her hand free with a mischievous grin. “Speak for yourself princess. You’re the slow poke!” Catra dashed off leaving her behind._

_“Am not!” Adora called as she sprinted after her._

_They made it to their destination. It was a door that led somewhere they had never been before. They called it “The door of wonders”. Catra turned the nob. It opened with a creak. Adora doubled checked that the coast was clear, nodding to Catra to indicate it was safe._

_Inside they found a dimly lit staircase._

_Catra bumped her in the shoulder. “You scared?”_

_Adora’s heart pounded in her chest. It was a dark creepy staircase, of course she was scared, but she wasn’t about to give Catra the satisfaction of being right. “Pft, I’m not scared of anything.”_

_Catra extended her hand forward as a challenge for Adora to go first._

_She took a few breathes to steady herself before ascending the staircase. Together they went step by step all the way to the top. There was another door. An unlocked door at that. Adora crossed the threshold and was met with a wave of fresh air._

_“Huh, I wasn’t expecting to end up on the roof.” Catra commented. She walked around exploring the area. She eventually sat down with her feet dangling along the side of the building._

_“Yeah, me neither.”_

_Adora took a seat along the edge next to Catra. They looked out at the sprawling landscape of Etheria. The view was spectacular. She felt like she was on top of the world. Like a ruler surveying her Kingdom, the dream shared by all aspiring Horde commanders._

_“This could be all ours someday.” Adora began, “Once we are free of Shadow Weaver and Hordak, we can do whatever we wanted to!”_

_“That sounds awesome. Adora and Catra, Rulers of Etheria!” Catra shouted from the roof loud enough to shake the trees below. They broke out into fits of laugher._

_“That has a nice ring to it.” Adora commented in between giggles._

_Catra smiled. “It does. So, future Co-Ruler of Etheria, what should we do first once we are free?”_

_“Hmm, I’ve never thought that far into the future. Once all the princesses are abolished and all the fighting stops, we should probably find somewhere new to live. Somewhere beautiful and peaceful. We could go anywhere we wanted to!” She turned to Catra. “Where do you think we should go?”_

_Catra pondered this. She turned her gaze back to the wonders surrounding them. Her tongue poking out in concentration as she surveyed the land._

_“How about there?” Catra pointed out into the distance. Adora followed her line of sight until she saw it._

_“Wow…” It was the most majestic tree she had ever seen. The tree was adorned with bright purple leaves which made it stick out from all the other trees. Not that it needed help with sticking out, it was also the tallest tree in all of Etheria. It was perfect._

_“It’s perfect.” Adora said wistfully. She turned back to Catra meeting her eyeline. “Just the two of us.”_

_“Always.” Catra promised with a smile. She scooted closer resting her head on Adora’s shoulder._

_“Happy birthday, Adora.”_

_They sat under the waning light of the setting sun discussing all the wonderful possibilities their future had to hold._

* * *

Adora clutched the note and leaf with shaky hands as she relived the vivid memory of how their tradition started. Each and every year since, they would gather on the roof the evening of her birthday and plan their future together. Tomorrow wasn’t a guarantee amidst a war-torn world, but Adora always knew everything would be ok in the end because she had Catra.

Now her future seemed so uncertain without her North Star guiding her. Catra made it very clear she wanted nothing to do with her anymore.

Then why leave this note?

It could be a trap. Adora slumped down onto the bed feeling conflicted. On the one hand, she wouldn’t put trickery past Catra but on the other, she couldn’t believe Catra would tarnish their sacred tradition for the sake of the Horde.

Adora had to be certain. If there was even a small chance that Catra wanted to salvage their friendship, then Adora was willing to risk an ambush to find out. If she left right now, she could make it to the tree before sunset. She shoved the note and leaf into her pocket, grabbed her sword along with a few other necessities, and then snuck out of the castle. Adora navigated through the Whispering Woods without a hitch. Just as expected, she arrived before sunset and there, leaning up against their tree was Catra.

Adora approached with hesitation, scanning the bushes for any sign of movement. She crouched and pivoted as if snippers could fire at any moment.

“It’s just me. You can stop doing… whatever it is that you are doing.”

They were alone. Adora relaxed and walked like a normal person over to Catra. “Oh, ok good. One can never be too careful in these woods. So, what brings you all the way out here?” Adora asked. She stopped her approach leaving a safe amount of distance between them.

“Have you forgotten our birthday ritual already? Or did your new friends ban this sort of thing?” Her voice was laced with anger, and a hint of jealousy?

“No, they don’t even know about this. I-I just didn’t think you would still want to after everything that happened.”

Catra crossed her arms across her body. “Of course, I still want to.”

It never fully sunk in. The pain of losing Catra came in waves. She felt it echo at stupid times like whenever she would blurt out a great insult at one of her enemies in the midst of battle or scare Bow by popping out from behind objects when he wasn’t expecting it. These were moments she knew, deep down that Catra would have loved. Over time, Catra’s absence seeped into her soul. It nestled deep within becoming a part of who she was. Now, standing before her, just the two of them, she felt it all at once. She didn’t want to. This was their chance to have a good memory together. One that was untarnished by their circumstances. It was a moment of truce in honor of their birthday tradition. Just one moment without princesses, without the Horde, without anything that wasn’t them.

A moment all to their own.

Adora shoved her grief down, bottling it up tight to deal with another day. She remembered she didn’t come empty handed. She rummaged through her things searching for her peace offering. She produced a container with two thick slices of birthday cake. She handed one over to Catra along with an eating utensil. Catra accepted the food with apprehension.

“It’s called cake. Trust me, you’re going to love it.” Adora bit into hers as reassurance the food wasn’t booby trapped. This seemed to reassure Catra. She took a small hesitant bite. In an instant, her face lit up. A tale tell sign that she loved it. They took a seat and finished every last crumb of the cake. Adora felt a fluttering feeling in her chest as she stole glances at Catra thoroughly enjoying herself. When they were finished, they sat there, face to face, as the sun continued its descent along the skyline.

Adora was determined to keep the peace between them for as long as she possibly could.

“We’ve spent so many years talking about this place. It’s hard to believe that we are finally here, together.”

Catra continued sitting across from her in silence. She shifted a few times. Adora wondered if she was uncomfortable or nervous. So, Adora did what she does best. She rambled on.

“If you could, would you still want to live here? Once it’s all over.”

“If we both make it out alive you mean?” Catra asked fidgeting with her hands in her lap.

It was a harsh question but a very real possibility.

“Or you know, if I don’t make it, would you come here alone?” Adora asked because she had to know.

That weird fluttering feeling was back when Catra answered without a moment’s hesitation.

“What would be the point of being here without you? This is our place.”

Our place. It was, and according to Catra, it still is. Adora felt more at ease as something warm nestled deep within her chest. She had hope to cling onto.

“Yeah, I couldn’t be here without you either.” Adora admitted. “It wouldn’t feel right. I would always feel like something important was missing.”

The air was thick between them, lingering with unspoken truths. There were so many things Adora wanted to say. There were many more she wanted to hear from Catra. She hated this limbo they were stuck in. She just didn’t know how to go about this without everything spiraling out of control like it often did. She couldn’t handle Catra storming off in anger to become her enemy once more. Not today.

Catra broke the silence. “Maybe it’s better if we don’t talk about this.”

“Ok.” Adora conceded. Her heart breaking just a little.

“Maybe we could dance instead?” Catra offered. She stood extending her hand out. Adora took Catra’s hand in her own.

Just dancing. No talking. It was easier that way.

She clung to Catra as they moved in sync among the trees. Adora could make out the faint hooting of an owl signaling the inevitable approach of night. Adora knew they would have to part ways soon and the moment they did they would go back to being enemies. She clutched onto Catra tighter focusing on the feeling of security from having Catra in her arms. Adora finally realized this is what she was missing all along. Catra was her home.

Her heart pounded wildly as if it was trying to escape the confines of her rib cage. It was so strong, she was sure Catra felt it too. If she did, Catra didn’t say anything. Adora didn’t say anything either. She wanted to. Oh, how she desperately wanted to know if Catra felt the same way about her. Adora had her hope, a tiny silver of hope that deep down Catra still wanted a future where they could be in each other’s lives. She held on to that hope while they continued swaying in the waning sunlight.

Catra took a step back breaking their embrace. Adora was hit with a cool breeze already missing the warmth from Catra’s body.

“It’s getting late.” Catra began absentmindedly running her fingers through her hair, “I better head back before Shadow Weaver comes looking for me.”

“Oh, yeah I better get back too. Thank you for coming out here.”

“It’s tradition.”

“Yeah, it is.”

Catra started to walk away. Adora was overcome with panic.

“Catra, wait!”

Catra stopped dead in her tracks. She pivoted on her heel turning back to face Adora.

“Will things ever go back to normal between us?” Adora couldn’t stop herself from asking. She had to know if her hope was real.

A crooked smile spread across Catra’s face. “One day, when the world is finally ours.”

That fluttering feeling was back. Adora had hope, real hope to hold on to. She returned Catra’s smile.

“Good night Adora. Happy birthday.” Catra called over her shoulder as she turned to leave.

“Good night Catra.”

Adora watched her figure retreat into the forest. When she could no longer see Catra’s form, she trekked back to the castle. She managed to make it all the way back to her room undetected by the guards.

That night she had the most pleasant dream of another world, another lifetime.

A world that belonged to her and Catra.

**Author's Note:**

> This story is dedicated to a wonderful human being that absolutely loves Adora and Catra.
> 
> The happiest of birthdays to her!
> 
> I hope you all enjoy this collection of birthday musings!


End file.
